TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re. Minimalist help? From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Wed, 31 Jan 1996 08:51:38 -0600
Perhaps we need a distinction between the connotation and
denotation of "minimalist" documentation.
The denotation is to avoid verbosity and provide a straight
path to the solution; this does not prohibit you from
providing comprehensive details on request (i.e., the
proverbial "more details" button). On the other hand, the
connotation seems to be what some companies are adopting:
provide the minimum you can provide without driving your
customers to other suppliers. Ideally, sell the really
important information as an extra product so you can create
a captive income-generating audience.
I like the former approach; I'm dubious about the latter.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)}
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of our
reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.